The Sun. — London, England, 1808-11-19 00:00:00

SPA PAPERS'. VILLAFRANCA, O CT . o.—His Excellency our the good Gene ra l, anxious to redeem from capt i v i ty good hitt unforlonete R. P. BHAULIO DE SAN Guardian Of the Convent of Capuchins at Tarrag„na, who was made prisoner by the French nea r Viladecan s , wrote the follow i ng letter to t h e the of the enemy ' s army, to which he rece i ved the answer subjoined to it : " GENERAL DUHESNIE—In the attack of the niorning of the.3oili ult. at Viladecans, in which )Our troops did me the favour to leave me a con siderable number of useless horses with all their ac coutrements, and a field of battle strewed with cuirasses, arms, and dead bodies, while not one of ziry st:lchers had so mud] as a Mark of a contusion, they indemnified themselves for their ill-tortune 11 Pon that occa-ion, by thieving some provisions, and their a rr ying off a C 3puc hi n F r i ar, as t h e on l y trop h y o f valour and intr e pidity. " This Friar, who has never taken up arms, nor stained them with blood, can have committed no °ther crime, in your eyes, than that of having, like ev ery man of honour, discharged his duty as a Mi nister of Religion, and also towards his Government and Coun try. No General boasts of taking prisoner an unarmed person, who can make no resistance ; a t nd, therefore, doing you the honour of thinking hat you admit this principle, I propose, if you are coto an exchange, to 4e id you, in lieu of b any one of the Officers of your army Who are %fined in Gerona. " But should yon place a higher value upon a % Vanish Mendicant Friar, permit me to request that y o u Will treat him with the humanity and resped dUe to a priest of the only true religion ; otherwise, the French Officers who are my prisoners, and are treated, will become victims of your conduct. v a " , l'he honourable tind gen e rou s en e my oppos "'You, expels from your urbanity a prompt ltlawer. " MAILQUIS DEL PALACEO." " Barcelona, Oct. 4. " SE IGNOR M ARQUIS—I have to reply to t h e i et jer Which you have addressed to me, and which have received from my out-posts. good" Aot attach any great importance to the , or bad s u cc ess o f m y a dvanced parties, one o f om brought in the Capuchin whom you claim. ea :himself justifies the importance attached to his t h' e 'll'", by boasting that he is one of the Chiefs of ▪ rgents, your most confidential adviser, and IT, lnl strator-General of your Army. 2 eigno r Marquis, I shall dispose of him as my s 4P• rettcribe s wit bout suffering your .menaces re- ' M g the Officers in your power to have any „ t) ce Whatso ever upon my determination, h S uch, Seignor Marquis, is tuy answer, in which wh ijrr. You will find that tone and polite attention i n I " men of honour, of all nations, sbouidobserve "nr intercourse with each other. I ha v e the honour to be, with pertedt coniiderao Your most attentive and obedient savant, Dunesuz, " Commander in Chief of the French Army in Catalonia." SALAMANCA Oer. m 0 -- t 2 k&tierroll .--D JOSE MARIA Poi a Tr", Om , 1 1 -boa AND ALG ALDE M A Y O * ov ibis 'C l air, 7 ; 1116 61CTION, AND PROVINCE Of SALAMANCA, TUE NAME Of OUR KING, D. FERDINAND Va. . 111 ° lii GOD RESERVE. (e In order to the more speedy and complete „6ture o f t h e French army, the b rave and faith t i .u n t tboish Will pass through this city. No one is a.dacquaintecl with the proofs of friendship, and the aff or d edls s uccours which this celebrated nation have N „, are — us lit dere en of the good cause in which int gaged, and in which they take au equal ling trest with ourselves, with tire view of anniltilat the ferocious who was anxious to accorn. P l ish nur ruin. l ous T e his nly aswell as the other cities of the kingdom, when the French entered it as friends, rve pro o f s of its generous disposition, by treating w hat, in a manner. b ecom i ng a hi g hly cultivated-city. ‘Yhat,.then, will be its condud towards our brave a nd faithful English Allies, who have spared no means of demonstrating their attachment, and their 61n determination to redress the wrongs of Spain, Wh ich was in the most deplorble condition, and surrounded by difficulties and dangers that would t r i ve Plunged her in total ruin, by subjeCting her to . fie Yoke o f t h e most ambitious and sanguinary o f the The inhabitants of Salamanca should treat vf li English h eroes w i t h t h at cor di a l atten ti on 844 4 Is so characleristic of them, and exhibit the °Stand ino3t sincere proofs of their gratitude. be No respect that can be paid t o o ur Alli es w ill I ,_ ° ° grea t . Th ey t h emse l ves h ave supp li e d us ,w,toeir Ca pi ta l with a specimen of the manner in e ulch ought to re ce i ve th em ; f or th e y cumu l ate d each oth er in subscribing. even for the relief of the Wid ows of our generous warriors, and all the people of rank and respedability in that metropolis, both •colle dively and i nd i vidually, have given the most convincing demonstrations of their regard and attach ment to the Spanish nation. t , The Corregidor and Alcalde Mayor, who has the honour to be at the head of this city and pro and who has given them so many proofs of I_ls-atiettion, expects that the inhabitants, of every .11and condition, will vie with each other in giv -17d4 the best reception, entertainment, and acconi ation to the E ng li s h troops. He trusts that.they 111 offer them the use of their horses 4,atis for the e ° 2 l veyance of th e i r b aggage, and fuinith them w ith h t ,7 - FY assistanc e w hi c h may b e necessary towards r greater c om f ort an d convenience. By so doing _",.la t uanca will hand d own to posterity an example u 2 gratitude, and, at the same time, a lasting moon ;ern in honour of the English nation for their exer gins to Promote our happiness. " JOSE MARIA PUENTE." " Salartlnta, OR. 28, 1808." In a ludicrous article, en ti t l e d " A Sermon preacLed by Mr. lOSEYII Buoti , trAaTE in the Chu rch or Lag rono, " his Mock-Majesty is m a d e t o describe In s reception at Madrid in the following t t r e 'l ul , B :•-•-•" How was I covered with confusion, on 'aY of my public entry i nto that capital, to. see eery door and Windo w s h ut—to find myself treated as llitie ceremony as a dog, by those who hap p-i ed to be ill the streets at the time—to see nut a MoVed--to ~ear not one lauzza, but from my few hired attendants—and to lean; that threats and an armed force were necessary to get the bells rung, and to cause a few lights to be exhibited ! What was my conlnsion, on being informed, that on the solemn day of my being proclaimed, the in habitants of Madrid, the tOndest of novelly o f any people on earth, shut themselves up in their hou se ,, and though compelled, by proclamations, to.liang their walls with tapestry, yet that it was with th e oldest .and dirtiest they could find ; that not a singl e window was thrown up, and that even the tempta tion of scattering money among the speClators could attra& into the streets only the lowest order of the Barquillo, and the other meanest quarters of the suburbs ! How deeply did [blush, when, going the last evening but one of my being at Madrid, to take a walk on the Prado, the few persons who were there immediately went off, and with marks of the utmost contempt left me to myself. I arrived at the Palace ready to burst with indignation. What an evening ! What a sleepless night did I pass ! I in stantly took an irrevocable resolution to withdraw from the midst of subjects who thus renounced the means of making themselves happy. Ah ! Spa niards, how badly do you compensate the anxiety, the cares and toils with which NAPOLEON incessant ly exerts himself to promote your glory ! I feel myself covered with shame and confusion ; I fly to hide myself where the light of the sun cannot pene trate, on witnessing so ungrateful a return. ,Sent to you by the Great NAPOLEON—his favourite brother— nay, elected and proclaimed King of Spain and the 'lndies, quitting for this the delightful kingdom of Naples, and alter all, to see myself despised and hooted at by the people of Madrid ! Even the little boys calling me, some of them, a Drunken Joe," others " Uncle Joey," and the most modest persons mentioning me only as - " Mr. Joseph." What can be the meaning of this ? Spaniards, is this your so much vaunted loyalty to your King ?" PROCLAMATION OF NEY TO THE TROOPS UNDER HIS COMMAND. SoLDIERs—The mild, agreeable, and various cli mate of Spain, its productions, its. wealth and opu lence, form part of the reward which the great NA POLEON has prepared for us (1). Break and throw intcrdisorder the files of the enemy's hosts, which will prove a small obstacle to such great giiod for tune (2). Soldiers, the enemy is weak (3) ; your di3cipline and military evolutions (4) will prove a rock to repel the :fury of these barbarians and sa vages (5). Trust to my experience (6) and attack them, secare of vi6tory. (1) in this he speaks the truth; and from this he wopid inter, that Napoleon thitiks.of nothing but to make the S pa triards happy ! (2) if the obstacle is stall, why do they not accomplish it ? Why does Napoleon speak with so much respell of the conquest of Spain ? Why have the heroes of Marengo, Aus terlitt, and Pena, lost in a moment that glory which cost them years of toil in the North ? (3) Why not quote in. proof of this weakness the testi mony of Juno; Dupont, Moncey, Lefebvre, Duhesme, and Bessieres.? But he canikit animate his troops by di►crediting these Generals. who have repeatmily said, that the Spanish soldiers in combat were not men, but wild beasts. (4) Our troops Will soon acquire discipline, and under. stand military evolutions ; our Generals do not aet blindly ; they have formed a system and plan of operations, which they are 'developing to the no small loss of the French.— Among the armies of Spain there is one, which, by the tes timony of intelligent and impartial military men, is one ot bravest and heat disciplined in Europe. The secret of con quering, with the loss °fa small number of men, is an circa ot Spanish tadica of which the French are ignorant, whose victories were always accompanied• with the slaughter of a multitudeof unfortunate French soldiers. At Marengo Na poleorinbserved. " I have lost a great many men ; but what does it &ignify,ll have conquered." Plato'called all iiireigners barbarians ; and in this sense we shall always give them leave to call us barbarians, since we shall always be Spaniards, and never Frenchmen. (6) Dupont, Moncey, and Lefebvre were experienced; but what did their experience teach them, but to prove to them the valour of our troops, and the talents and skill of our Ge nerals ? COMMUNICATIONS FROM AN OFFICER OF RANK. VAZ.MASEDA, Nov. 2.—At day-break yesterday morning, the enemy, who' had received very cousi-, derable reinforcements from Vittoria, attacked the Galician army, posted about a league and a quarter in advance of Sornosa, in the following order:— The first regiment of the Volunteers of Catalonia, being part of the vanguard, occupied a hill to the right of the wad leading to Durango. The third division, commanded by Genera', 111- 7 QUELMI, was stationed on the heights to the right of Sornosa to support the vanguard, and defend the right flank of our position. The vanguard, commanded by General Meent- ZABUL, defended the road leading to Durango. Our centre was diaw❑ up in line, on an eminence to the lett and rear of the vanguard. Our left, commanded by Brigadier General Ft- GUROA, possessed themselves of a hill to the left of the road. The base of the 101 l was joined to that occupied by the fourth divisioe and reserve. During the night of the Jodi, die enemy ad vanced his force in very large columns, opposite to the different points which he meant to The next morning, at day-break, the different co lumns moved forward to the attack, their approach being concealed by a very heavy and thick fog, which in these parts is prevalent in the morning. The first attack was made on our right. Two large columns advanced, with the intention of sur rounding that part of our force. The enemy was opposed in a most steady and gallant manner by the 4th regiment of the Volunteers of Catalonia ; this famous corps kept up a tremendous and incessant fire by platoons, and for a considerable tithe kept in check a force upwards of four or five times its own number. Two battalions of Marines, and the tire dares, or sharp-shooters, of the third and fourth divi sion, reinforced the regiment of Catalonia; however, being overpowered by numbers, they were obliged to retire on the third division; this enabled the ene my to place a colutnn on the right of the third tLvi slot+, whilst another column attacked in front. The enemy advanced in force along the road, and at tacked the van-guard, which defended the road and valley leading to Durango. The enemy was most gallantly and vigorously opposed, and compelled to retreat a considerable distance, by the van-guard, headed by General MANDIZABUL. The enemy, however, having considerably increased his numbers in this point, advanced a second time, accompauied by a howitzer and a four -pounder, and succeeded in gaining a sufficient advance on the road, to enable hits to bring his guns to bear (within about three quarters of a gun-shot) ou the centre and left divis ions. •. NV Lilit these op,:rsvioos •wo.e carrying ,on against our right and centre, the enemy advanced two very strong columns againSt the front of our left position,; and at the same moment, a very numerous corps of sharp-shooters (voltigeurs) advanced under cover of the howitzer and 4-pounder and got possession of a Wood, which ascended from the road to with in less than musket-shot of the right rlank of the left position. This obliged General FiGUROA to throw back one or two battalions upon his right, to oppose the enemy's light infantry. Nothing could be more gallant or more orderly than the enemy's attack of this post ; he advanced in the greatest military regularity, '.under a most tremendous fire. The gallantry of the enemy's attack could only be equalled by the intrepidity of the defence Made by the first division. It is impossible for me to do jus tice to the soldier-like conduit of this division. At-- tacked on their side by - a very superior force, and occasionally fired on by the howitzer and 4-pounder, they defended their post with determined obstinacy. Theyappeared resolved not to yield a fbot of ground. The enemy,were equally obstinate and persevering, and being enabled by their very superior numbers to nearly surround the hill occupied by this gal- i lant division, General FIGUROA felt himself called upon to order a retreat ; which was efreded with as much order as 'existing circumstances would admit of. Whilst the first division was thus engaged, the enemy kept up a heavy fire of shot and shell, and some musquetry, (from the woods in our front,) on the centre divisioat and the reserve. The guns were supported by two very large columns, and a disposable reserve. Nothing could exceed the soldier-like steadiness with which the fourth division and reserve remain ed on their post under this heavy tire ; this courage • will not be wondered at when I mention that the Commander in Chief himself was at the head .of the •. ,centre division, animating the soldiers by his pre i sence and example. When the first shell burst there General BLAKE repaired, and placed his horse on the very spot, deployed his division into two lines, part of the reserve remaining in columns. • His address to the soldiers was simple, and spoke to their feelings—". Remember you are Spaniards; be firm soldiers."—Never did the most veteran troops, or those most accustomed to cannon, sre main mare cool, steady, and determined. After an aCtion of near nine hours of incessant fire, and • it became evident th a t t h e enem y h a d received • very great reinforcements, and having been enabled,: by the assistance of his cannon (of which aid this army was entirely destitute), to Push forward a strong force against our centre, and having in conseqUence occupied the woods flanking the right of our left position, it was deemed adviseable to retreat.— • General BLAKE placed himself at the head of the fourth division and part of the reserve, and in per son superinteuded and directed the covering of the retreat of his army, which was effected in order, the enemy not appearing inclined to molest our move- , mentC By eleven o'clock on the night of the 30th Qdober the most part of the troops arrived at ' Bilbors. Early in the morning of the Ist (yester day) General BLAKE arrived in that town with the fourth division, and lost not a moment in pro- . ceeding to the great square, where he superintend ed in person the issue of bread and spirits to the troops. Nothing could exceed their joy at seeing their General return to them, a false report hay ing been obtained that he had been cut ofr in cover ing the retreat. — No language of mine could do sufficient justice to the gallantry and ardour of the Officers and soldiers of this army in the aaion of yesterday. I trust, however, the statement of fa6t , ,, which I have riven in a plain unvarnished manner, will give some idea of their brave condwt. Nothing can exceed the patience, and, I may add, the cheerfulness of the Spanish soldiers, under diffi culties and privations of all sorts. The impression left on my mind, frOm the action of yesterday, is decidedly most favourable to the Spanish soldiers.— The &lett prcduced on their bosoms from yeser day's defence is a manly and soldier-like pride, aris ing from a self-conviCtion of their having dune their duty. Last Monday, his Royal Highness the Com mander in Chief, attended by the Duke of CAM BRIDGE, General HARCOURT, and many other Ge neral Officers, went to B4shot Heath, to fix upon a spot of ground for the purpose of erecting a Military College, for the reception of the Students now at Marlow. We understand the intended building will be in every resped worthy the English Nation, and the high character of the British Army. Letters from the West Indies mention, that the army of CHRIsToNIE, in St. Domingo, had revolted, and that about the middle of August he was left will, only 300 men. The disatli:ction of the troops is attributed to his having withdrawn from circula tion all the dollars in his dominions, for the purpose of carrying them away with him from the Island, There are now living in one house, at Bucker bank, in the neighbourhood of Carlisle, three un married persons (brothers and sisters), whose united ages amount to upwards of v4O years ; and what is still more remarkable, they have in th e i r possessiorra horse thirty-seven years old, which now performs its accustomed labour. The Duke of ORLEANS his been on a visit to the Duke of KENT for some time. past, at his Royal High ness's seat at Castle-Bar-Hill. Ott• Tuesday night a Messenger arrivad there with letters for the Duke of ORLEANS; the contents of which were, we un derstand, requesting him to leave this country as soon as possible, to proceed to Gibraltar to meet his mother and sister, to accompany them from that place to Malta. It is understood the Duke will com ply with their wishes, and will shortly Bet off. We understand that information has been re ceived of no less than eight French frigates having put to sea, fron different ports, in the last week.— The objet: and destination are probably the same as those of the Thetis. We hope they will have the same fate. 'the French Government will use every exertion, and run every risk, to send out to the West India Islands these supplies, without which they cannot possibly- hold out long. We trust the vigi lance of our cruizers will render the scheme abortive. The office of the Receiver-General of Dues for Greenwich tiospi;J was robbed, on Thursday tight, of cish and bank-notes to the awount of 7001. The robbe rs forc e d their way into this office through a bole vvilich ti:v contrived to make in the hall door. ••• • • I BSCOA ' ED TIE COLLEC TQL• • The Colle&tor of Takes at the West end of the town, alluded to some days past, as havihg decamps ed with several thousand pounds, the produce of the Taxes received, proves to . beMr. L. A..the Colieftor of the Property and other Taxes fur the palish of ----, and is , deficient to the amount of up, wards of 10,0001. This • unfortunate man's family are very respeetable; his father kept a cheesemon 7 ger's shop for a great number of years in Jermyn. street, and he succeeded 'his father in the business, and married the daughter of a wealthy and eminent - butchr in St. Innes's-market, with whom he re' ceived 80001. fortune. It is supposed he wag not prosperous in huffiness, and the Commissioners of the parish, out of respect for his family and con . - neaions, very itaudsoincly appointed him Colle::tor of the Taxes. This otlice is supposed to have pro . - duced him between three and tour hundred a year.-- It has lately been discovered that he kept a house in the New Road, Mary-le-bone, where he cohabited with a woman. , On this discovery being made, his brother called upon bit I), and staled, that unless he ' broke of all connthicn with this woman, he would withdraw his name from being security f,r This threat is supposed to have alarmed hint extreme ly; and it is conjectured that from that time he planned his making off, sensible of his deficiency. About six weeks since, he told the Commissioners, his family, Cc. that he was going into Nottingham shire on a _visit to a Gentleman very well known to them. The time having arrived when he appointed to return, andhe not appearing, some supicum muse that ail was not right in his affairs, and in conse quence a letter was wtitten to the Gen tietn:in in Not tinghamshire. The Gentleman, iu aie:wer, said 'he • had WA been at his house. This coutrined the sus picion; and, on investigation, it e. , as tinned that a few days previous to his leaving London, he had sold out of the funds Stock to the amount of be-. tween four and five thousand pounds, part of hii wife's fortune, and not the least trace could he made where he was gone, or what route he had taken.— The Commissioners, however, issued Their writ rant, as particularly directed by the At of Parliament, sinnedr •by the whole of them, and e mp l oye d P ea r k es and Adkins, two waive Officers belonging to the Public-office, Bow-street ; they put the Officers in possession of - all the circumstances, and lett it to theni to exert their. abilities in finding Mr. A. The Officers went to the dare amie's res4ence, in the New Road, and found that she had left there at the same time Mr. A. left London ; but it was not known where she was gone. The Officers, however, continued their enquiites in the neignbournood, till they found a man who had been employed in re moving several very large trunks from the house a short time previous to her Setting otf, and that they were taken to the New Inn, an the Oki Bailey, di- - retied for Mr. Ward, to go by the waggon to Ports mouth, to be left till called for. This lett nu doubt in the Officers' minds but that Mr. A. had assumed the name of Ward (the name of the woman he co habited with), and they at last traced him to Truro, where the Officers arrived on Tuesday evening se'n night. Having satisfied themselves that the • Mr. Ward they found there was the person of whom they came in search, they arrested him in the house of the Mayor of Truro. They returned with him to his house, when he asked Mrs. Ward for the keys, and delivered to the Officers a large pocket-book, containing bank notes and bills to the amount of above 5000 pounds. They arrived in London with him on Monday night, and he has unnergone several examinations before the Commissioners, at the house of Mr. Rice, their Clerk, 4 m Dufour-place, Broad street. He has remained in custody, hitherto, of Peat kes, the Officer. On Thursday a Committee of the Privy Council met at the Council Chamber, in the Treasury, for the first time this season, to hear and determine Prize Appeals. FIRS.—On Saturday morning, about nine o'clock, a fire broke out in one of the new houses, nearly in a finished state, in the Crescent, Cheltenham, (which was occasioned by the carlessness of a boy who had left a fire burning near some shavings) ; it had at tained such fince before effedual assistance could be procured, that the whole building was speedily re duced to a mere shell ; and the adjoining houses were only prevented sharing a similar fate, by the ailivity of the workmen, and the inhabitants of the town, who resorted to the spot in great numbers at the moment of alarm.—tuesclay evening an alarm ing fire , broke out in a house at the bottom of the Abbey-Green, Bath, owing to a stove-flue being improvidently placed near some lath aad plaster; but it was extinguished without much &page, by: the prompt assistance of the firemen belonging to the Bath Fire-offices: In the evening of Thursday se'n -night, the Ooasant cottage of Lady Laroche, at Py!e, Glamorgansfure, was totally destroyed by fire, together with almost every article it contained. The flames burst forth and raged with such fury, that every effort to extinguish them provedfruitless.—A fre also broke out last week on the premises of J. N . Miers, Esq. at Cadoxton, near Neath, in the same county, but, being confined to the cot-houses, was extinguished before any very considerable da mage was done. , The many dreadful fires that continually occur in the metropolis, should tend to stimulate every neces sary precaution towards their prevention. Fires not untrequently happen by natural consequences, which are not easily accounted for. It is pretty well known that any vegetable substance lying in a heap, suce as hay, corn, &c. stacked before it is sufficiently dry, is liable to take fire; but the following parti- Cular, which, though it will be recognised as possi ble by a natural philosopher, deserves, however, the serious attention of all those who are not so con versant in causes and effecis.—A globular bottle, tilled with water, such as are frequently used in bed chambers, by being placed in the sun, is capable of setting a house on tire ; tot if the sun's rays, winch by such means are brought to a focus, tall on any thing that is combustible, they ad the same ac by the medium of tl - z burning glass. A Gentleman, some tune since, observing a great smoke, searched for the cauie, aed at last found it to proceed ffom a crape handkei chief, which was burnt to a cinder, ny being. accidentally placed opposite a bottle al water that had thus collected the rays of the sun; and where this occurred, had linen been ,o situated, ttee house would have probably - been consunled.